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Release Date: 02/21/2014Contact: Amy Susan, (573) 522-5058JEFFERSON CITY — The Missouri Economic Research and Information Center (MERIC) has released a report on the economic impact of Medicaid expansion in Missouri.

A new paper by Joel Ferber of Legal Services of Eastern Missouri (LSEM) analyzes the impact of the state’s decision regarding the Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act. He report, entitled “The Medicaid expansion is good Medicine for Missouri” reviews the many aspects of the State’s decision on this important matter. The report examines the expansion’s positive impact on Missouri’s rate of uninsurance, coverage of low-wage workers, the health of its residents, the state’s economy, its health system, the State budget and private insurance premiums. In addition, the expansion would provide significant assistance to uninsured low-income workers in various sectors of the state’s economy, including the low-income clients served by LSEM.

This comprehensive study demonstrates the tremendous benefit that the expansion would have on our state. Conversely, the report shows that a failure to adopt on the expansion would have a negative impact on Missouri’s health system, private insurance premiums, and the State. The paper shows that without question the expansion would be a significant step forward for Missouri and its residents.

Medicaid expansion would reduce the state’s uninsured by more than one-fourth, bringing an estimated $1.56 billion in new health care funding and providing coverage for more than 267,000 Missourians. The expansion would have the most dramatic impact in rural Missouri, reducing the uninsured by up to 31 percent, according to this new analysis.